Hamilton hails “massive step” for McLaren

Lewis Hamilton said McLaren have made a “massive step” after qualifying second for the Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton said: “I’m thrilled to be here today.

“The guys at the factory have done an unbelievable job. A massive step this weekend, the car’s feeling fantastic and of course we still have a lot of work to do be we’ve really got ourselves on the right track and a great foundation for us to build upon.

“I know the guys back in the factory will keep trying but a big thank-you to everyone at home, keep pushing!”

Hamilton qualified second despite having a problem with KERS halfway through his fastest lap.

Eddie was as usual engaging mouth before brain. He said everytime McLaren have road car projects the F1 team suffer. Which in my memory is completly usubstantiated by the actual facts. But as we know Eddie never lets minor issues such as facts get in the way of his nonsense spouting.

I actually thought that the Coulthard and Brundle combo worked well. I didn’t think it would, but I actually think Coulthard is way better in that role. The problem now is that Eddie is on his own. I like his presence a lot now and find him entertaining, but I really think they need someone else there to sort of tut at him and give the opposite view when he says something dumb…..which he does about 50% of the time. Fans will know when he is talking crap or being overly emotional, but the casual viewer may well not.

Hmm…, I suppose all of You that kept spewing the “Lewis should leave McLaren” bile feel a bit silly now eh? I know there is pace in that car. Also, as Lewis is arguably the most naturally gifted driver in the field, having the added functions to activate should pay dividends for him, while offering a greater challenge to rivals. I know He will Excel where others struggle in this regard. He used Kers masterfuly in 09′, and the addition of drs will prove little challenge. I’m predicting a great season for him, provided the team unlock the potential of the car.

McLaren were eventually going to Recover from Pre Season Troubles,It was just a Matter of how long it took,Half a Season,Couple of Races but no they fixed it and improved massively before the start of the season.This Shows the Resources,Facilties and Abilities McLaren have to Develop a Car throughout an F1 Season,Its Incredible.

No One can ever Emulate that in F1 right now,Red Bull cant touch it neither Ferrari.Red Bull are only good at developing cars for the team to have a big aerodynamic advanatage to last throughout the whole season.Notice how Ferrari and McLaren were catching up with them Last year,It wasnt dramatic and big as you’d anticipate but they were chasing Red Bull like Hell.

Whoever was saying Lewis should leave McLaren if he’s going to win Multiple WDCs are out of their stupid minds and it was incredible hearing that.You should take another Look at Lewis’ racing history and his history with McLaren and make a quote that is Valid.I cant believe people actually considered that and acting like F1 Drivers are like Footballers,who hunt for the Trophies and Money.Guys,Just go and have another think and come and apologise to this Website or this article for doubting McLaren,A big Racing Industry who are known Worldwide for their sucess and development.How Dare you Insult McLaren’s Intelligence and Wisdom whoever did,How Dare you Test Lewis’ Commitment and Determination.

I am a unapologetic Lewis fan, but, I know formula one is a race that last for a season. We will see how good this McLaren turns out by the fourth or fifth race. If the car gets better and is on even footing with the RBR car we will have a super season. However, If they (McLaren)can’t overcome the Newey variable it won’t matter how good Lewis is, his car won’t be able to compete with Vettel’s and Weber car.

No offense younger hamii, but I think you are being a little quick to say that Mclaren has solved all their problems before the start of the season. Maybe you should wait a few races before demanding for apologies from everyone.

Hamilton gave a somewhat confusing answer in the press conference about his KERS situation on his last lap:

Q: You were shaking your head when we were talking about KERS. Is that because you didn’t use it or were thinking ‘wow, without it’.

LH: No, I used it for half my lap and I ran out towards the end of the lap. I didn’t have any more. No, I had probably, like, 40 per cent still left. That is a little bit of time but nothing which would get me close enough to them. That is a staggering lap time they did, so well done to Sebastian but like I said I’ll catch you up.

Keith its not the first time Lewis has given conflicting answers. He has a tendency to just forget what a problem is and get on with the job. He does this so often that he can some times take blame for issues that are not his fault. Alonso on the other hand will remember every detail necessary or not while Hamilton just discards details that are of no value to him.

This whole KERS thing. Might REd Bull be onto something with a “start only” KERS. Doing away with the most expensive and heavy things needed for quick recharging. Sounds like a clever idea and consistant with what Newey said about KERS al along. Good for Gascoyne if they can pick up on the idea, how many will follow suit?

With all those teams “running out” or just malfunctioning KERS seems to be only that much better than in 2009, might there be other teams looking at this option?
Interesting take is, that it makes for another reason why Red Bull will hate the DRS, as they wont have KERS to counter.

I bet Vitaly, Fernando, Jenson and Lewis are wanting to have a go at a combined DRS/KERS push to make a lunge tomorrow. That is, if they have them in sight a few laps from the start (after the pitstops?)

To b honest its irrelevant whether he used KERS or not.. Sebastien’s still way out in front. BotH of them put in awesome laps. Nice to see mclaren being competitive :). Just a shame that one of the red bulls seems to be so far ahead. I guess it’s a race for second place.

Awesome effort from McLaren…. and that theyve got such a radical car competitive so quickly bodes well for the rest of the season – theres no way theyve got anywhere near its potential as yet with so little running.

I cant believe you guys are goinna beat down on Lewis just because he didnt use his crystal ball to find the words you’ll be happy with.

I dont find anything confused about his comments. Hes said he used it for half of his lap and had 40% to spare which he couldnt use.

What on earth was wrong with that??
-Would it be because he shaded jenson quite abit considering partial use of KERS. And maybe more so cos over practice…no doubt the Jenson-loving journos were getting abit too carried away?

– Stop with the sour grapes with Lewis all the time! Lewis gets too much of a raw deal by the haters especially the british media journos.
Its sad.

i remember one david coultard referring to the McLaren as a dog of a car. Hmm. Explains how he got all his championships… Making such irrational comments without having have as much a driven a car will leave u with a massive serving of humble pie on those jaws!

Mclaren have definitely given all a big shock. To their fans a positive one and vice versa(biggest to Ferrari maybe). After having seen their turnaround of 2009, i seriously believed that Mclaren will catch up RBR before the half way mark(predicted that in 20 questions thread).

Also in testing i didn’t totally believe that Mclaren were as slow as some pundits(same pundits who said Ferrari will be very close to RBR) were saying. Most likely they had troublesome Exhaust systems and some other reliability problems so couldn’t get enough mileage which also mean they couldn’t get their setup right.

Another thing is on topic of Hamilton leaving Mclaren. All the talk was based on Mclaren not pushing enough and producing a slow car and disappointing their drivers especially Hamilton. I am sure that talk had an effect (especially Horner talking about getting Hamilton) and we have seen the result today. Mclaren have improved an awful lot.
Keep Pushing Mclaren and Hamilton(my prediction for 2011 driver WC).

Something i only noticed in qualy is how cool the car looks from a face on picture. The wheels hide the sidepods and it looks very similar to how the ground effect cars looked in the late 70s/early 80s with the low bodies and raised tubs.

But well done Mclaren, certainly pulled a bloody great big rabbit out of their hat this time.

Great lap from Lewis, once again. And well done to Mclaren. They’ve still not given Lewis the best car; however, they are improving this one, dramatically.

But what was Webber playing at? To be nearly a whole second behind your team-mate, when you had no apparent problem or made no obvious mistake, is beyond words.

Webber has to reconsider his future. If that gap is genuine, it’s time to hang up the helmet. If Vettel is being given a better car, it’s time to jump ship. (The same is true for Massa in his situation.

RBR might be quicker over a lap without (full) KERS: better weight distribution; center of gravity; packaging; etc. However, they had better pray that there are no re-starts or safety car re-starts. And they won’t have any defence against a DRS overtake; whereas, the KERS cars will be able to use it to fend off a RBR DRS overtake. And RBR will be vulnerable exiting the pits close to a KERS car: remember Heiki’s overtake on the ‘sleeping’ Fisi at Suzuka a few years back. So, if Mclaren are within striking distance on the track, on the grid, or in the pits, then RBR are sitting ducks…

Yeh I don’t believe they would risk situations like that, especially at Albert Park and with the amount of times the SC comes out every year. Doesn’t sound like a design feature to me, maybe more of a set-up choice. And if we believe Martin Whitmarsh Hamilton should have been another 4-5 tenths closer, I think most people would accept 3 tenths as being the natural gap between Red Bull and McLaren at the moment.

I have no explanation for Webber and Button though, maybe I’ll have to eat my words to Keith and it really was DRS making all the difference! Others have talked about a qualifying/race compromise with downforce levels too, that would be a fitting explanation too.

Genuinely surprised by Hamilton and to a lesser extent Button today. I know they did reasonably well in practise, particularly FP2 but I didn’t see either of them on the front row. Nevertheless a welcome surprise, I always like them, just one of a few today.

If they can find that pace they were after so soon after testing the other teams best be very careful throughout the season.

Also note they left the white heat-coating on the floor/diffuser, costing them drag and weight, because they don’t have enough data on heat dissipation. Meaning, the configuration is basically untested. So more astonishing. And it also means there is more time in that configuration close at hand, after they get a race’s worth of data on it.

Alongside Petrov this team have surprised everyone.They did improved a lot,all those crying in the off season about the car from the drivers have paid off.Can’t wait,I bet they can win if they have a good race.